Gas-engine starter.



PATENTED JAN. 15

G. 0. HICKS JE. GAS ENGINE STARTER.

Y AYPLIOATION FILED NOV.22. 1905.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Inventor Witnesses:

WIE).

PATENT-ED JAN. 15, 1907.

' G. O. HICKS, GAS ENGINE STARTER. AP?

LIOATION FILED NOV. 22', 1905v 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Inventor f2 DE/w ILhhHNJWIWTH M u A Q m/ ,lww, \Whn $3 a M w m m 5 MW m Attorney i GEORGE c. Incas, .13., or conNEnsviLLE, INDIANA.

GAS-ENGRNE STARTE-R Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Janlfi, 1907.

Application filed November 22, 1905- Serial No. 288,515.

To aZZ ichom it mag concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. HICKS, J r.,

a citizen of'the United States, residing at Connersville, Fayette county, Indiana, (postofiice address, ()onnersville, Indiana,) have invented certain. new and useful Improve-' ments in Gas-Engine Starters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention pertains to improvements inthat class of devices designed to facilitate the starting of gas-engines.

2 While the invention is not limited to any specific adaptation, it has been developed with special reference to employment upon automobiles, and it is in connection with such an adaptation that I have chosen to illustrate an exen'iplification of the invention.

The invention'will be readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1 is aside elevation of an automobile of gas-engine type fitted 'with my improved starter Fig. 2, a side elevation of the start-er; Fig. 3, a front elevation, part vertical section, of the same; Fig. 4, a side elevation, part vertical section, of portions of the device Fig. 5, a front elevation of. a portion of the main lever, and Fig. 6' a side elevation of the main pawl.

In the clrawings, 1 indicates as a whole an automobile of gas-engine type, 2, its gas-engine 3, its engine-shaft i, a frame part fixed relative to the engine 2 5, a bearingsecured to the frame part with its axis parallel to that of the engine-shaft; 6, a rotator or spindle journaled therein 7 the spindle; 8, a sprocket-wheel loose on the engine-shaft; 9, a chain connecting the two sprocket-wheels; 10, a ratchet fast -witl1 sprocket-wheel 8' and engaged'by a pawl carried by some part ti'i'rnmg 'wntlrthe engineshaftas, for instance, the fly-wheel; 11, a

hand-lever to the spindle; 11,21 pawl-lifting.

'ing graspedand the gripdcver pressed, the

notched wheel fast on the spindle; 12, a hand-lever having its heel loosely pivoted upon the spindle, the heelof'the lever l'ieiiig' shown'aS bifurcated to straddle the notched Wheel, 13, apawl pivoted 'to the hand-lever and havi'nga tooth adapted to engage the notches of'thc notched wheel and form a 'a sprocket-wheel fast on clutching device for temporarily lockingthe grip-.lever pivoted on the hand-lever near its to urge and hold the pawl into engagement the ratchet-wheel ,21, a disk fast 'on thespindie; 22,, a spiral spring having one end secured to the dsk and its other end secured to the fixed bearing of the spindle; 23, 2'4, and

'25, lines indicating certain angular position;

for the hand-lever, and 26 a spring forurging and holding the stop-pawl into engagement with the ratchet-Wheel.

In Fig. 1 the engine motion is in clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, and it is the duty of the starting device to start the engine 111 such direction. Spring 22 is so ar ranged as when under tension to tend to turn the spindle in clockwise direction, and the stop-pawl and its ratchet-wheel are so constructed astoprevent the" turning of the spindle inclockwise direction, while permitting it to be freely turned in the opposite direction, The hand lever, with its pawl cooperating witlrthe notched wheel, may turn the spindle in either direction to hold it, but in practice is employed only in turning the spindle upon the clock and in holding it. hen the spring is energized and permitted to turn the spindle in clockwise direction, then the chain will in an obvious manner impart starting motion to the engine. The

illustrated system of transmission between nored in future description, and the device may be looked upon as one for endowing the spindle with-a controlledstarting capacity in proper direct ion.

Assume everything at rest and the spring unstrained and the parts in the position i: :lirated in the drawings. The hand-lever betooth ol the pawl is disengaged from ,the notched. wheel, whereupon the hand-lever may be moved idly for\\"ardsay to the powheel, and thereupon thehand-lever is to be sition indicated by line as. The tooth of the pawl is then-permitted to engagethe notched drawn baeksay to near the. position indicated by theline 23. The ell'ect of this back stroke has been to turn the spindle through a certain-angular distance and putt-he spring under a certain degree of tens-ion. The stoppawl holds the spindle in its new angularposition. One or more additional strokes may,

ifnecessary, be given'to the hand-lever to increase the tension upon the spring. The re.- sult 1s that this spindle is energized, with a ca pacity toturn in clockwise direction, but is restrained against such turning by the action of the stop-pawl. The device may be left in this'condition, if desired, and its stored energy "utilized in the future when occasion requires, or its energy may, ifdesired,-'be n tantly put "into action.

When the energy of the starter is to be utilized, then the hand-lever, with the tooth of its pawl still in engagement with the notched wheel, is drawn backward an extra distance,

beyond the position indicated by line 23 and,

say, to the position indicated. by line 25.

"The effect of thisexcess motion isto cause lug -20 to release the stop-pawl from the rathetwheel. So far as the stop-pawl is concerned, the spindle would now be at liberty to yield to the spring and'niake its start- I ing rotation; but' the spindle is still rev to go into action.

strained against rotation by being held by the. hand lever. U on actuating the grip lever the tooth of t e pawl is released from.

the notched wheel, and thereupon the spring gives to the spindle the desired motion of rotati on. The energy of the spring thus remains stored for use. as desired and under complete control of the hand-lever, for when the stop-pawl hasb'een released the spring is still restrained, and 1f for any reason there'be a change of purpose the hand-lever may be advanced and the stop-pawl again permitted I If by carelessness the hand-lever should be released after it has released the stop-pawl and while its own pawl is still engaging the notched wheel, still the the best form in whic hand-lever will not be flung forwardby the 1 spring, for thereason that early in its adj 'vancing motion it would permit the stop- 2 pawl to again go on guard. In short, the spring is at liberty to exercise its energy only ,Wl'IilG the handslever holds tl1e"stoppawl released and While the hand-lever is itself held in position corresponding with such release of the stop-pawl'. After the starter has done its work and the en ine is in motion the engine-shaft carries the pawl around its ratchet idly, thus permitting no motionto the starting mechanism. In the present case the rat-chet wheel is loose on the engine-shaft and positively connected with the starting device, while the pawl that cooperates w th this ratchet-wheel is fast with the engineand servlng shaft.v The result is that centrifugal force tends to throwthe pawl outwardly away. from theratchet-wh'eel, and thus entirely,-

prevent or considerably lessen the noise and wear of the pawl.

it is to be understood that the definition of my invention is to be gathered from the claims, in which my invention is particularly point ed out, thedes cribed construction being and turn the shaft-normal advance direction,-, and mechanism inde endent of said shaft for turning said ratc et-wheel in advance direction; said pawl being so mounted that when said shaft assumes its normal rotative speed'the pawl is urged away from the ratchet by centrifugal force;

2. The combination, 'suhstantially'as set forth, of a rotator to be angularly advanced,

a spring connected therewith and tending when released under strain to advance the rotator, a locking device to. holdthe rotator in retreated position against the urgency of the spring, an angularly-movable handle, a

retractable connection between the handle and the rot at or serving'to turn it in retreating direction andput the spring under strain,

and releasing mechanism connected with saidhandle and locking device whereby an excess retreatlng' movement of the handle releases the locking device.

3.- The combination, substantially as set forth, of a rot ator tobo angularly advanced, a' spring connected therewith and tending when released under strain to advance the rotator, a ratchet-wheel.carried by the rotator, a stop-pawl engaging the ratchet-wheel and serving to hold thclrotator in retreated position against the urgency of the spring, an

angularlv-nlovable handle, a retractable con nection between the handle and the rotator servingto'turn it in retreating direction and put 'the spring under strain, and releasing mechanism connected with said handle-and stop -pawl whereby. an excess retreating movement of the handle releases the ratchetwheel.

4. The combination, substantially as set forth, of a rot ator to be angularly advanced, a spring connected therewith and tending when released under strain to advance the rotator, a ratchet-wheel carried by the rotator, a stop-pawl engaging theratc-het-wheel against the urgency of the spring, anangu .larly-movable handle, a retractable counse to hold it in retreated position releasing device carried by the handle for re-' than; between the handle. and-the rotator serving to turn it in retreating direction and put the spring under strain, and apart carried by said handle and adapted to engage the stop-pawl and release it from theratchet- Wheel when thehandle is treating movement.

given an excess re- -5. The-combination, substantially asset forth, of a rotator to beangularly advanced, a spring connected therewith and tending when released under strain to advance the a spring connected therewith and tending when released under strain to advance the rotator, a locking device to hold the rotator in retreated position against the urgency of the spring, anotched wheel fast with the rotator, an angularly-movable handle loosely pivoted on the rotator, a pawl carried by the handle, and cooperating with the notched wheel, a spring urging the pawl normally into engagement with the notched wheel, a pawlleasing the pawl from the notched wheel, and releasing mechanism connected with said handle and locking device whereby an excess retreating movement of the handle releases the locking device.

7. The combination, substantially as set forth, of a rotator to be angularly advanced,

a spring connected therewith and tending when released under'strain to advance the rotator, a ratchet-wheel carried by the rotator, a stoppawl cooperating with the ratchet wheel to hold the rotator in retreated position against. the hand-lever loosely pivoted upon the rotator,

a notched wheel fast with the rotator, a .pro-

jectionc'arried bythe handle to engage and. release thestop-pawl when the. handle is givenan excessretreating movement, a pawl carried by the handle and cooperatingwith the notched wheel, a spring-"normally urging the pawl into engagement with the notche urgency of the spring, a.

wheel, and a grip-lever carried by the handleverand connected to-its pawl to serve in disengaging the pawl from the notched wheel.

- 8, The combination, substantially as set forth, of a bearing, a spindle j ournaled therein, a disk fast on the spindle, a spiral spring having one end secured to the disk and having its other end fixed, a ratchet-wheel fast on the spindle, a stop-pawl cooperating with the ratchet-wheel and serving to hold the spindle against rotation in the direction in which'it is urged by the spring when under tension, a notched wheel fast with the spindle, a hand-lever loosely pivoted on the spindie, a pawl carried-by. the hand-lever and en-- gaging the. notched wheel and serving to clutch the hand-lever temporarily to the spindle, a spring urging and holding the pawl into engagement with the notched wheel, and a connection from the pawl to the handle of the lever whereby the hand grasping the hand-lever may release the pawl from the notched wheel.

9. In starting mechanism, the combination of a rotator, a motor-spring therefor, a clutch element on the rotator and a fixed detent cooperating with said clutch, an operating member, a retractable connection between-the operating member and the 'rctator for placing the spring in position to impel the rotator, and cooperating members carried by the handle and detent arranged so that movement of the handle within a limited part of its I angular motion serves to release and reenthe detent.

GEORGE C. HICKS, JR. lIVitnesses: E. D. Jonxsrox, J. 1i. SHADE. 

